Nets' Second Unit Among NBA's Best

The Nets' starting five has been outscored and outrebounded this season while attempting fewer field goals, free throws and simply playing fewer minutes than their opponents' starters.

Rival first units have superior field goal and 3-point shooting percentages, accumulate more assists and turn the ball over far less frequently than New Jersey's starters.

So how did the Nets eclipse last year's 12-win total by midseason?

ENLARGE

The Nets' Jordan Farmar goes for a layup against the Lakers' Lamar Odom.
Associated Press

"Our bench has been unbelievable," Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks said. "I think our bench is one of the better benches in the entire league. They really give you a nice boost. They come in and kind of change the scope of the game."

The Nets bench—which lately has consisted of forward Kris Humphries, center Johan Petro and guards Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow and Sasha Vujacic—scores only 31.5 points per game (13th in the NBA) but ranks in the top four among reserve units in rebounds and assists. That's a significant improvement from last year, when the Nets bench ranked 26th, 17th and 18th in those three categories.

Two of the bench's biggest pieces—Mr. Petro and Mr. Farmar—were signed as free agents during the offseason to play behind team captains Brook Lopez and Devin Harris. But it's been the most recent additions to the second unit that powered the Nets to a 4-1 homestand in mid-January.

Mr. Humphries, who has blossomed into a Most Improved Player candidate, was relegated to the bench on Jan. 5 and responded with unrivaled professionalism: He scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a win over the Bulls.

In fact, he still leads the team in rebounds (9.3 per game) despite playing in a backup role.

But perhaps general manager Billy King's best move in constructing the second unit was trading troubled swingman Terrence Williams and veteran power forward Joe Smith for Mr. Vujacic and two first-round picks.

"Getting Sasha in December, that was really a home run," Mr. Marks said. "He's given us such a lift hitting big shots."

After contributing to two Lakers' championships in the past two seasons, Mr. Vujacic fell out of favor in Los Angeles, averaging less than five minutes over 11 games this season.

That's all changed since he arrived in New Jersey. Mr. Vujacic—who, like Mr. Humphries will be a free agent after the season—has averaged 11.4 points in 27.5 minutes per game since joining the Nets. He brings championship experience not just to games, but to practice as well.

"If you want to win, you have to have competitive spirit in every practice," Mr. Vujacic said. "You've got to go like you do in games."

New Jersey's bench isn't just solid. It might be the team's true backbone.

The backups shot 48.4% from the field during the 4-1 homestand but punctuated that by hitting only 35.5% of their shots in losses to the Pacers and Bucks. "We haven't been very consistent the past few games," Mr. Vujacic said.

Of course, New Jersey lost to Indiana and Milwaukee without the second unit's point guard, Mr. Farmar, who is dealing with a back strain. The former Lakers backup ranks 28th in the entire NBA in assist rate (percentage of a player's possessions that end with an assist) and scores 9.6 points per game, so the Nets bench was understandably at a disadvantage in the back-to-back losses.

"It was good for us during that homestand because we had Jordan kind of knowing how to run that team," coach Avery Johnson said. "That unit wasn't effective on the road. We've got to figure out how to do it."

The Nets are battling to stay out of the Atlantic Division basement and, after walking away from trade negotiations for Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, they're still searching for their superstar.

But if they ever do get their top five in order, it's comforting to know the Nets have a productive reserve unit waiting in the wings.

"We're trying to beat every other unit and just play the right way," Mr. Vujacic said. "Sometimes that means scoring points, sometimes that might mean playing defense. Luckily we have a lot of weapons with everybody."

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